"I don't understand women," I said loudly.

Rui and Akira both turned towards me, utterly shocked.

"I thought the only thing you understood was woman," Akira said.

I sighed.

"Is it that girl?" Rui asked, and Akira looked at Rui blankly. I forgot that Rui had met Sara before.

I nodded.

"Huh," Rui said, before falling back to the ground and picking up his book.

"What girl?" Akira asked me.

I shrugged as I uncrossed my legs and stretched them out on the glass. We were all sitting on the school lawn, sipping French wine Akira had brought from home.

"Just a friend."

"You have friends who are girls?" Akira asked, shocked.

"She's the only one."

"What about Yuki?" Akira asked me, raising an eyebrow. He knew that Yuki and I slept together a few months ago, and he never failed to tease me about it.

I shrugged. "Yuki is Makino's friend."

Akira looked like he didn't believe me. "Whatever, who's this new girl."

"Just a girl from my childhood. I don't understand what I said that upset her," I informed Akira. It was pretty surprising that I had never told Rui, Akira or Tsukasa about Sara. I suppose it was just weird, combining my two worlds. They were such different people, and they belonged to different parts of my life. I wondered why I invited Sara to the party this weekend. Was I willing to let her into this part of my life…or perhaps was I ready to let my Eitoku friends in to my personal life?

"What did you say?" Akira asked me.

"I was telling her how all men who want her were evil creatures and then she just started crying on me."

"Ouch, that's pretty harsh."

"What? How is that harsh? Men are usually after one thing," I informed Akira and Rui. Rui looked bored and didn't seem to be listening.

Akira raised an eyebrow at me. "Soujiro, men like you and I are usually after one thing. But look at Tsukasa. He's still a virgin, yet he would die for Makino."

I shrugged, thinking over Akira's words. I hate to admit it, but Akira makes everything seem so much clearer. He's the voice of reason, the common sense.

"I guess. But Tsukasa isn't normal," I said reluctantly. Why does Akira always have to be right?

Akira smiled indulgently at me. "Do you think a girl just wants some guy who sleeps with her and forgets about her, or do you think she wants a boyfriend who loves her unconditionally, sex or not? And what you said to her implied that there was something inherently wrong with her since all men who are evil go after her. That can really destroy a girl's self-confidence. I'm surprised you said that. I thought you always knew exactly what to say to women."

I looked upwards towards the sky. "You know, I had thought that too."

What was it about Sara that made me become someone completely different, someone who wasn't a playboy with charismatic one-liners floating out of my mouth? She made me lose my senses. I was nervous around her and I often end up saying the wrong thing. Was it our past? Is it still too awkward between the two of us?

I sighed. All I knew was that I needed to apologize to her.

"Invite her to the party this weekend. I want to meet the girl that's making Soujiro, of all people, question his prowess with women," Akira joked, but Rui had already fallen asleep.

"I already did. But now, I'm not sure she's coming."

"Apologize, you idiot. Buy her something nice and fancy," Akira suggested, rolling his eyes.

I fervently shook my head. "No, it's not like that with her. I can't just buy Sara something pretty to distract her. She's not that kind of girl."

"Are you trying to tell me that this one actually has a brain?"

I punched him in the arm, though he just chuckled. "She's in Tokyo University."

That made Akira's eyes pop. "Seriously? Wow, that's impressive. Is she a nerd?"

"No, not really. She's just really cheerful, childish, and nice. You would think she's an idiot when you first meet her, but she's actually really book smart. She's going to become a corporate lawyer."

Akira didn't say anything and studied me for a moment. "I've never heard you talk so much about a girl's personality before."

"It's not what you think. She's like a sister now," I said.

"So you're telling me you've never liked her?"

"He used to be in love with her," Rui suddenly said.

I turned towards Rui, shocked that he wasn't actually asleep. A book was still placed on top of his head, but he seemed awake, or perhaps some ghost said those words.

"Really?" Akira said with interest.

"Used to be," I stressed.

"No way! Why am I the last one to know about this? I thought I was your best friend, dude," Akira said in mock injury.

"It happened like three years ago, and Rui only found out a few months ago when Yuki became friends with Sara."

"So you don't love her anymore?" Rui mumbled from somewhere behind his book.

"Do you still love Shizuka?" I countered.

Rui was quiet for a moment and I thought he wasn't going to answer, but then he said, "I see what you mean."

Akira looked between the two of us and said, "Huh?"

"I loved Sara romantically, just as Rui loved Shizuka. But over a period of time, you grow and change and become different people. Then that love changes as well and it becomes more like a love based on friendship and familiarity. I bet that's how Makino felt with Rui. Once in a lifetime opportunities," I explained.

Akira stilled looked at me skeptically, though I took Rui's silence to signify consent.

"That's why nothing is going to happen," I stressed. "Once in a lifetime opportunity. We miss it, and it's gone. It's over for Sara and me. We can only be friends."

"That's just stupid," Akira said.

I rolled my eyes. "You don't understand."

Akira looked me in the eye. "Do you?"

I paused before I spoke. Didn't I?

Jiroh called me on Friday and apologized. As close as Jiroh could ever come close to apologizing, of course.

"It really was none of my business," he said to me.

I agreed wholeheartedly. "And?" I asked.

"And… well I was still wondering if you wanted to come to this dinner tomorrow."

"That's it?"

"Yes?" he asked, utterly confused.

I sighed. "Okay. I shall be there."

"Good. Oh and Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." And then he hung up.

I took the phone away from me and looked at it, utterly flabbergasted. He apologized. I didn't expect it of him.

I flipped through my whole closet for something to wear to Jiroh's dinner. I berated myself for trying to impress him or his friends. What was the point? In the end, I settled on my comfortable jeans and a nice sweater, telling myself I really shouldn't be trying this hard if I didn't love him in that way.

The restaurant was posh and trendy, one of those elegant, yet dark places tucked away in some hidden street. Only those who were looking for it could find it. I saw a major movie star exit the restaurant just as I was entering and tried hard not to gawk. I guess the location worked for keeping the lives of movie stars and music legends out of the press. Inside, the place was gorgeous, not what one would expect when just looking at it from the street. Each table was intimately lit by large candles set elegantly on long silver candlesticks. The floor was this gorgeous hardwood, which would be extremely difficult to clean up after and completely impractical in a restaurant. Silk tablecloths covered each table, and I spied at least four different wine glasses at each place. All of a sudden, I regretted not wearing my nice black dress and a pair of heels.

I spied Jiroh first at a large table in the back. He looked quite handsome, wearing a white button down, most likely from some expensive store I've never even heard of, and a pair of dark jeans.

He stood up when he saw me and walked towards me. "Hey," he said casually.

"Hi," I said back nervously with a smile.

"Come meet my friends," he said and led me to the table.

Already seated were two girls and two guys. I've met three of them before.

Jiroh pointed to people as he introduced them. "That's Rui. Makino. Akira. And you know Yuki. This is Sara."

I smiled and said hello. Yuki stood up and gave me a quick hug, which I returned with affection. I smiled at Yuki's friend, Makino. Then I looked at the two men at the table. The one named Rui was dreamily staring at his menu, while the one named Akira was staring at me as though appraising something he's about to buy. I swallowed at the way he looked at me and took a seat across from Akira and next to Yuki.

"How's college?" Yuki asked me with her usual brave, bright smile.

"It's wonderful. I'm learning so much," I said. "Do you have any idea where you're going to go yet?"

Yuki shook her head. "No idea. I'm such an idiot I don't think I'll get in anywhere."

I was just about to refute it when, Jiroh said quietly, "You're not an idiot."

Yuki smiled back at him with affection, and all of a sudden, I'm wondering what really happened between the two of them. I always knew Yuki liked him, but I wondered what happened to Yuki's love after she found out about Jiroh and me. Did they date? Are they still dating? But Jiroh was sleeping around as usual wasn't he? What was going on? Tsukushi and Rui were on the far end, having some conversation about France, and Jiroh was trying to explain the Italian words on the menu. And all of a sudden, I caught the eye of Akira, who was still staring at me in appraisal from across the table. He had also caught the exchange between Yuki and Jiroh, and he looked at me as though to gather my thoughts on it. He raised an eyebrow.

"So?" he asked me in a low voice over the din of the restaurant. No one, not even Yuki and Jiroh, could hear us unless they were trying very hard to hear.

"Yes?"

"Are you jealous? Soujiro told me you don't know."

"What?" The man seemed to enjoy speaking in riddles.

"Never mind. For someone who's going to Tokyo University, you aren't very observant."

I tilted my head and looked at him. "You're the observant one of the group, aren't you? And seeing as how all the women who are thirty or over in this room have been looking at you for quite a while, I would assume that you have a reputation of sleeping with older women. Am I right?"

He smiled at me, amused. "And how do I know Soujiro haven't just told you this?"

"Jiroh never tells me about his school friends."

"That's a surprise. I thought he told you about everything," he remarked, an easy smile still grazing his lips though his eyes were judging me.

"Not everything," I responded, my eyes flickering back to Jiroh and Yuki's easy conversation.

Mimasaka caught my gaze and continued, "What else do you see in me?"

I placed a finger on my bottom lip and looked at him. He was a very good-looking man, perhaps even more so than Jiroh. He had a calming effect on people, instead of Jiroh's charm and excitement.

"You must have a very young mother," I remarked as I watched him.

He stared at me and then burst out laughing. It was a soft, sweet sound. "How did you know?" he asked.

"And a sister, I assume? Girly and immature, just like your mother?"

"Soujiro must've told you that."

"No. I swear he didn't. You can ask him yourself," I retorted and smiled genuinely for the first time at the man. "There must be a reason why you prefer older women. Some men do it for the money and benefits. You certainly do not lack the money. It seems the most reasonable. That, or you once fell in love with a very childish girl and she broke your heart. But you don't seem like the type to get his heart broken."

He raised his eyebrows, his eyes amused. "I don't?"

"Nope. You seem like the type to be very careful about the type of girl you fall for. You guard your heart better than anyone," I remarked as I watched him, his light brown eyes widening at my speech.

It was true. He seemed like the type who could control his emotions easily.

He regarded me as well, and the smile fell off his face for a moment, before it came back, brighter than ever. "I take my words back. You're far more observant than anyone I've ever known."

I smiled and bowed my head a little at the compliment.

Then a twinkle emerged in his eyes, reminding a little too much of Jiroh. No wonder they were such good friends. "But now it is my turn, is it not?" he asked me as he watched my face.

"For what?" I said, unsure where he was heading.

"To observe."

And as he said those words, the waiter came to take our orders. The conversation with Mimasaka had been so interesting I had forgotten to look through the menu. But a quick glance told me what I wanted, and I ordered in Italian. It was a little rusty, but the waiter didn't seem to know any better. Jiroh looked at me in surprise after we had all ordered.

"When did you learn Italian?" he asked me.

"I spent a summer in Italy a year ago on an exchange program," I remarked. It was a fabulous summer spent in the sun. I had earned a scholarship with a very exclusive program, or else I would've never even seen Europe, let alone spend a summer learning about art history while living in a 16th century castle that had been converted into a school.

"That sounds amazing. I've always wanted to go to Europe," Yuki said as she looked at me with admiration in her eyes.

"I could send you the scholarship information. The program is amazing, and it's all covered."

"I could never get in."

"Of course you can! Just work hard and you can do anything," I told her with an encouraging smile.

"You must be very smart," Makino said as she watched me too with the same respect.

"She's a genius," Jiroh told them proudly.

I blushed at the compliments, especially Jiroh's. "I just work hard," I said.

Thankfully, the conversation went off of me. Rui and Jiroh were caught in a discussion about a trip to Italy, and Makino and Yuki were listening with amazement.

I reached over and took a sip of my wine. I choked and coughed a little. Setting it down, I reached quickly for the water, hoping no one noticed. I looked up and saw a pair of eyes watching me from directly across the table. I set the glass of water down.

"You're a little immature, aren't you?" Mimasaka asked me.

I smiled. I suppose it was my turn to be observed.

"You must've gotten that from Jiroh. He always thinks I'm still ten years old," I remarked.

"Yes," he admitted. I was surprised at his truthfulness. "Soujiro did mention it. But you are not as immature as he thinks you, right? You're obviously very smart, and sophisticated."

"Sophisticated?" I asked, with a raise of my eyebrows. No one has called me that before.

"Perhaps that's the wrong word. You're very educated and interesting to talk to. But you also have this refreshing childish innocence and curiosity attached to you," he admitted to me.

I laughed. "That's new."

"I mean to say that you're more grown up than Soujiro thinks you are," he responded with a small, confused smile.

"You should try telling him that," I said as I looked over at Jiroh. He seemed to sense my gaze because he turned around and caught my eye, flashing me a small smile.

"How are you two getting along?" he asked us.

I looked at Mimasaka and he looked at me. We smiled a knowing smile at each other. "We're comparing notes," Mimasaka said cryptically.

Jiroh looked between the two of us. The small smile was still on his face, but it looked a little different.

"And what was the conclusion?" Jiroh asked.

"That we're both quite good at taking notes," I replied.

Mimasaka laughed.

The rest of the group broke off from their conversation and looked over to see what the source of laughter was.

"No wonder Soujiro has been hiding you. You're fun to be around," Mimasaka said.

I smiled at the compliment.

Jiroh scowled. "I haven't been hiding her."

"Then why have we never met her before?" Mimasaka countered.

"Maybe it's because you can't be trusted to be around girls," Jiroh joked.

Everyone laughed at the statement except for Mimasaka. He simply smiled a little and took a sip of his wine. I wondered why Jiroh never introduced me to any of his friends. Back then, a part of me never wanted to meet them. I wanted to believe that Jiroh was all mine. The women he slept with came and went, but I was his best friend. Knowing that he had other friends made me just a little bit inexplicably jealous when I was still madly in love with him. Now, I can appreciate his friends. I was taking a liking to Mimasaka.